Visual effects for music

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for accentuating beats in a musical arrangement. A continuous loop of film is prepared containing sequential sets of different images. A predetermined number of the images is projected for no more than one-third of a second ensuring that there is a discrete image change within one-sixth of a second of the time of occurrence of a beat.

[ Sept. 19,1972

[54] VISUAL EFFECTS FOR MUSIC [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS [72] Inventors: Selden Levy, New York, NY.

10023; Stuart Grant, Baldwin, N.Y.

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[2]] Appl. No.1 154,346

Primary Examiner-Louis R. Prince Rem"! pp Assistant Examiner-Joseph W.Roskos [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 878,140, Nov. Attorney-PeterBerger 19, l969, abandoned. ABSTRACT Method and apparatus foraccentuating beats in a [52] US. Cl.

353/ musical arrangement. A continuous loop of film is .G03b 31/06.352/12-15, l, 5, 352/31, 85; 353/15, 16, l9;240/3.1, 10.1

51 Prepared mainin8 sequential different images. A predetermined numberof the images is projected for no more than one-third of a secondensuring that there is a discrete image change within one-sixth of asecond of the time of occurrence of a beat.

[58] Field of 9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures II l2 l3 l4 l5 l6 l7 l8 I9 2|22 23 24 loss DEDDCSIIIDIZDD m m m n m a n w m U m m m m mBLKm EB Km. mm m :AM u

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SHEET 2 OF 2 Selden Levy Stuart Grunt Vincent Coryell Fred DiamondAttorney:

VISUAL EFFECTS FOR MUSIC This application is a continuation-in-part ofUS. Ser. No. 878,140 filed Nov. 19, I969 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Our invention relates generally toaudio-visual effects and, more particularly, to visual effects formusical arrangements.

With the advent of rock-and-roll and, more recently, hard rock, lightshows have become increasingly utilized to add to the emotionalexperience of the music. Such light shows are produced by using complexand expensive electronic equipment, such as strobe lights and othervisual display means synchronized with the music. As a result, lightshows can only be enjoyed at discotheques where the cost of theexpensive equipment can be borne.

In addition to the visual effects commonly used with present day music,more conventional musical arrangements having predetermined tempos canbe even further appreciated with visual effects which emphasize orreinforce the tempo. Included among such musical arrangements are theconventional Latin rhythms, such as the rhumba, mambo, merengue, andcha-cha as well as the foxtrot, waltz, etc. Unfortunately, priorapparatus is designed exclusively for rock-and-roll, and otherafficiendos go wanting.

An object of the present invention is to provide a light show for usewith musical arrangements having tempos.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a continuous lightshow in which sets of sequences of visual images are projected.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide such visualeffects relatively inexpensively.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus forproducing such effects which may conveniently be used in the home.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide such visual effectswhich will enhance the presentation of any musical arrangement having atempo.

Still another object of this invention is to provide such visual effectswhich can be projected on any reflective surface.

Otherobjects, advantages, and features of this invention will becomemore apparent from the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the principles of thepresent invention, the above objects are accomplished by providing amethod of accentuating beats in a musical arrangement having a tempo,the method comprising the steps of preparing a motion picture filmhaving sequential sets of different images and projecting apredetermined number of said sets for a duration of no greater thanone-third of a second. It has been found that by changing from one imageto another within one-sixth of a second of the time of occurrence of abeat, the effect of the beat is significantly enhanced.

In a preferred embodiment of our invention, a continuous loop of film isprovided which contains the sequential sets of different images. Each ofthe sets comprises a plurality of substantially identical frames witheach of the sets being different from adjacent sets. The film is capableof being run on a standard 8 millimeter home projector which can project24 frames :1 second. When the beats occur within one-sixth of a second(four frames) ofthe time ofchange of an image, the musical beats appearto be accentuated, which enhances the presentation of the entire musicalarrangement, the accentuation increasing as the percentage of beatsfalling within this time duration increases.

The sets of images are arranged on the film such that the continuousloop of film can be started or stopped at any point with the same effectbeing substantially achieved. The images change in timed relation todominant or sub-dominant beats, such as the upor downbeat.

As another embodiment of our invention, the additional sequential setsof images may overlap each other with multiple changes of imagesoccurring simultaneously. In addition, the time interval for whichsuccessive images are projected may progressively increase or decrease.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a pictorial view of a segmentof a continuous loop of film plotted on a time basis with respect to theoccurrence of beats in a musical arrangement.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of a projection system for use with ourinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Musical arrangements with a tempo havepredetermined beats in the musical arrangement. Most conven tionalpopular music is of the two-quarter, threequarter, four-quarter orsix-eight time, which means that there are a predetermined number ofbeats in each measure. For instance, in the three-quarter time, thereare 3 beats per measure. Contemporary music, such as rock, is generallyformed of an uneven time signature, such as five-quarter time, whichmeans there are 5 evenly spaced beats per measure.

Each musical arrangement can be played at varying speeds, such asallegro largo, presto, etc. These terms relate to the basic real timeframe of reference for the tempo, and for each instrument, the number ofbeats or distinct and' discrete notes or sounds obtainable varies. For abase fiddle, the number of possible beats per minute that can be heardis much less than that obtainable for a base guitar. Similarly, apercussion instrument is capable of producing a large number of beatsper minute, depending on the drummer. Although we are aware of nostandard maximum number of beats per minute, it is true that mostmusical arrangements do not contain portions in excess of 252 beats perminute. Generally, the conventional range is from to 144 beats perminute.

Such beats are obtained in many different ways depending on theinstruments used. For a percussion instrument, each distinct beat isclear, while for a horn instrument a beat can comprise a rest betweentwo discrete horn sounds.

It has been found that presentation of visual images can significantlyenhance the effect of the presentation of the musical piece, if themusic is accentuated. Specifically, with musical arrangements having atempo, as described above, including predetermined beats, visual effectswhich accentuate the beats significantly enhance the impact of themusic. It has been found that when there is a discrete image changewithin approximately oneesixth of a second of the time of occurrence ofthe beat, the beat is significantly accentuated, while the accentuationseems to diminish as the time dif ferential between the beat and imagechange increases.

Accordingly, and in accordance with the principles of our invention, weprovide a method and apparatus for accentuating the beats in a musicalarrangement by preparing a motion picture film to contain sequentialsets of different images which change discretely, and by projecting apredetermined number of the images for no more than one-third of asecond, we ensure that the image change so projected will occur withinapproximately one-sixth of a second of the time of occurrence of a beat.This follows from the fact that if an image is projected for no morethan one-third of a second and a number of the projected images last forthat period, there will be sufficient correlation between the changingimages and beats in the music to significantly enhance its presentation.As the number of beats which fall within the one-sixth of a second timeinterval of the change of an image increases, the accentuation of themusical arrangement increases.

In accordance with a feature of our invention, we prepare a continuousloop ofv film to contain the sequential sets of different images.Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a portion ofthe motion picture film 60 having sprocket wheels 62 along the edgesthereof, the strip including frames 1 48 plotted against a time basegraph representation of a number of sequential beats which occur withinthe time represented by the 48 frames. In order to enable the motionpicture film to be used in the home, the film loop can be made for an 8millimeter film projector which projects 24 frames a second. Thus, thetime of projection represented by the portion of the film shown in FIG.1 is 2 seconds. For purposes of illustration,

there are seven beats shown which would represent.

three beats a second or 180 beats per minute, which is relatively fast.Of course, if the beat rate is slower, the number of beats per secondwould also be less.

The motion picture film contains sequential sets of different images,represented by letters. In actual practice, each frame includes animage, not a letter, but for purposes of explanation, the film is shownwith the letters A W. The letter A appears on the frames 1 4, letter Bon frames 10, letter C on frames ll 18, letter D on frames 19 22, letterE on frames 23 25, letter F on frames 26 40, letter G on frames 4l 46,and letter H begins on frame 47. Most of these frames will be projectedfor less than a third of a second which would be eight frames.Therefore, the image change is much more rapid than the frequency of thebeat, although it has been found that those image changes occurringclosest to the beats are noticed, while the others seem to pass withoutsuch special attention.

Beat 63 occurs at one-sixth of a second before the change from image Ato B at frame 5; beat 64 occurs one-eight of a second after the changefrom image A to image B and one-eighth of a second before the changefrom image B to C at frame 11; beat 65 occurs fivetwenty-fourths of asecond after the image change from B to C and one-eighth of a secondbefore the image change from C to D at frame 19; beat 66 occursfivetwenty-fourths of a second after the image change from C to D andone-twenty-fourth of a second after the image change from D to E atframe 23 and one-twelfth of a second before the image change from E to Fat frame 26; beat 67 occurs one-fourth of a second after the imagechange from E to F; beat 68 occurs onetwenty-fourth of a second beforethe image change from F to G at frame 41 and seven-twenty-fourths of asecond before the image change from G to H at frame 47; and beat 69occurs one-twenty-fourth of a second after the image change from G to H.Where the beat occurs within one-sixth of a second of more than oneimage change, the image change closest to the time of occurrence of thebeat will be more significantly sensed than will the other imagechanges.

The length of time the images are projected progressively increases anddecreases, in particular, image A lasts four frames, image B lasts sixframes, image C lasts eight frames, image D lasts four frames, and imageE lasts three frames. If the frequency of the beats were significantlyless so that only beats 63, 66 and 68 were to occur, for instance, thecorrelation indicated above between the time of occurrence and thenearest change of an image would still be valid, while the otherchanging images would not accentuate the beat, and therefore not benoticed as greatly.

In order to enhance the visual presentation, a plurality of images maybe simultaneously projected. This is accomplished by double and tripleexposing of the frames of the film strip, so that multiple imagessimultaneously appear. Referring again to FIG. 1, this multiple imagepresentation is illustrated again by way of letters rather than actualimages. The letter J is placed on frames 1 and 2, while the letter Kappears on each of the frames 1 through 7. On frames 1 and 2, letters Jand K overlap, while on frames 3 and 4, letters A and K are apart.Letter B commences at frame 5 as does letter K. Letter L is placed onframes 6 through l0 and appears with letters B and K in frames 6 and 7,with letter B in frame 8 and with letter M in frames 9 and 10, letter Mappearing on frames 9 through 14. As illustrated in frames 9 through 11,letters L and M appear one on top of the other. Letter N appears onframes 19 through 24, and letter 0 appears on frames 19 and 20overlapped with letters D and N. The above description with regard toletters I through N is also applicable for the letter symbols used inframes 25 through 48 particularly letters P through W.

By varying the position of the projected image, that is by causing it tojump, further accentuation is achieved. By changing the projected colorbackground in the frames, still additional accentuation can be realized.

While the arrangement of characters on each frame may be projected in avariety of ways, such as by passing slides through a projector, it hasbeen found that a continuous film loop is advantageous. To that end,frames 1 through 48 form a portion of a continuous film loop 70 havingthe plurality of sprocket holes 62 disposed on opposite side edges ofthe film strip.

Referring to FIG. 2, the film is projected with a projector 72comprising a housing 74 resting upon a base 73. The film is driven bymeans of sprocket wheels 76 connected to a drive motor 77, the sprocketwheels engaging the sprocket holes 62. The film is carried in front of alight source 78, which projects the characters on the frame appearing infront of a lens 80. The

characters are projected through a front window 82 onto a screen 84.Standard 8, standard 16, and super 8 millimeter projectors may beutilized which pass 24 frames per second in front of the light source78. Once the projector is turned on, the continuous loop of film willcontinue moving in front of light source 78 thereby causing a continuingseries of changing images to be projected on screen 84.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides both a method and apparatus for the production of inexpensiveand continuous visual effects to accompany a musical arrangement. Thevisual effects may enhance the audio for all types of music includingnot only mod music but more standard types. Further, by providing acontinuous film for producing the visual effects, a broad segment of thesociety may easily utilize the present invention by merely providing astandard projector and a suitable projection surface. For purposes ofconvenience, the continuous loop of film may be housed in a cassetteadapted to be easily inserted and attached to a standard projector.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained. Whilea preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it is apparent that other modifications and changes may bemade without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. In this sense,the above embodiment illustrates the principles of the present inventionand should not be construed in a limiting sense. The invention should beaccorded its full scope of the protection to which it is entitled byreason of this patent application.

We claim:

1. A method of accentuating beats in a musical arrangement having atempo, said method comprising the steps of preparing a motion picturefilm having frames to contain sequential sets of different images, eachof said sets comprising a plurality of substantially identical frames,each of said sets being different from adjacent sets, and projecting apredetermined number of sets of sequential images for a time duration ofno greater than one-third of a second whereby a discrete image changeoccurs within approximately one-sixth of a second of the time ofoccurrence ofa beat.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a majority of said sets ofdifferent images are projected for no greater than one-third of asecond.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1, including the additional step offorming a continuous loop of film containing said sequential sets ofdifferent images.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3, including the additional step ofprojecting successive ones of said sequential sets of different imagesfor progressively increasing time durations.

5. A method as set forth in claim 3, including the additional step ofpreparing said continuous loop of film to contain multiple images onframes of said motion picture film to be simultaneously projected.

6. Apparatus for accentuating beats in a musical arrangement having atempo, said apparatus comprising a continuous loop of film having aplurality of frames, sequential sets of different images being containedon said frames, each of said sets com rising a plurality ofsubstantially identical frames, eac of said sets being different fromadjacent sets, a predetermined number of said sets of different imagesbeing placed on a predetermined number of frames such that saidpredetermined number of sets of different images are projected for nogreater than one-third ofa second.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein 24 frames a second areprojected and said predetermined number of frames is no greater thaneight.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said frames includemultiple images.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said predetermined numberof said sets of different images is more than a majority of all thedifferent images on said continuous loop of film.

1. A method of accentuating beats in a musical arrangement having atempo, said method comprising the steps of preparing a motion picturefilm having frames to contain sequential sets of different images, eachof said sets comprising a plurality of substantially identical frames,each of said sets being different from adjacent sets, and projecting apredetermined number of sets of sequential images for a time duration ofno greater than onethird of a second whereby a discrete image changeoccurs within approximately one-sixth of a second of the time ofoccurrence of a beat.
 2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein amajority of said sets of different images are projected for no greaterthan one-third of a second.
 3. A method as set forth in claim 1,including the additional step of forming a continuous loop of filmcontaining said sequential sets of different images.
 4. A method as setforth in claim 3, including the additional step of projecting successiveones of said sequential sets of different images for progressivelyincreasing time durations.
 5. A method as set forth in claim 3,including the additional step of preparing said continuous loop of filmto contain multiple images on frames of said motion picture film to besimultaneously projected.
 6. Apparatus for accentuating beats in amusical arrangement having a tempo, said apparatus comprising acontinuous loop of film having a plurality of frames, sequential sets ofdifferent images being contained on said frames, each of said setscomprising a plurality of substantially identical frames, each of saidsets being different from adjacent sets, a predetermined number of saidsets of different images being placed on a predetermined number offrames such that said predetermined number of sets of different imagesare projected for no greater than one-third of a second.
 7. Apparatus asset forth in claim 6, wherein 24 frames a second are projected and saidpredetermined number of frames is no greater than eight.
 8. Apparatus asset forth in claim 6, wherein said frames include multiple images. 9.Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said predetermined number ofsaid sets of different images is more than a majority of all thedifferent images on said continuous loop of film.